The room suddenly illuminated with light as rhythmic buzzing broke his thought process. The brunette glanced down at the flat screen with reserve. He knew Mokuba was with Yugi right now. He couldn't think of any liable reason that his brother would be contacting him at such a late hour. Normally the two just played games until passing out. Mokuba would return home either late at night or in the early hours the next day. His finger paused above the light. It faded in and out as Mokuba's name flashed across the screen. Sighing Kaiba picked up the device. He slid his finger across as the screen extended. The phone was slightly cool being pressed against his ear. No noise came out of his mouth. The answer would be enough at this point. Yugi could be heard in the background asking if he had answered.

Mokuba's fingers had been slow to call the older Kaiba. He rarely called his brother unless it was an emergency. This seemed serious though. Without any real details to provide he wasn't sure if they should even try to call. Mokuba was nervous at first unsure of what to say. Part of him had hoped that Kaiba wouldn't have answered at all. His brother must have gotten impatient though as he spoke up first.

"What is it Mokuba?"

Kaiba didn't sound angry or irritated. Those were emotions he tended to save for other people. Instead his tone was more tired. Pure exhaustion at this point. Mokuba didn't answer right away. He seemed to be trying to figure out the words with Yugi on the other side. Kaiba could hear the whispering; it sounded like scratching in his ear.

"You know I don't like it when you're evasive. What is it Mokuba?"

Now he was getting irritated. Mokuba found words from somewhere. The call was dripping with anxiety as his brother tried to find the perfect words to relay the urgent situation. Urgent even though they really had no clue what was happening exactly.

"We need to get to Egypt…There is an emergency of some sort. We couldn't really understand what that situation is….But I know it was important."

"No."

The answer came before his thoughts did. Why on Earth would they just fly out to Egypt on a whim? There were things to do and deadlines to be met. He wondered if alcohol was a part of this little façade. Either on his little brother's end or Egypt's. Marik and Bakura were there…foolishness had to be involved. Panicked shuffling resounded on the other side of the line; more whispering. Kaiba sighed as Mokuba came back on sounding a little more desperate.

"Nii-San please…Yugi is panicked. This isn't a joke something is definitely wrong. Ishizu and Rishid are involved somehow as well…Please?"

Kaiba sighed. Pressing his index finger and thumb against his temples he thought about the situation. Those two were less likely to be pulling a prank. Egypt though? He couldn't believe the words that formed in his throat. Long legs ached as he left his chair. Grabbing a long black coat, he shrugged it on with the phone sandwiched in-between his neck and shoulder. The buckles strapped onto the coat made a slight clinking noise before falling into place. The elder brother started to make his way out as his answer ended the conversation.

"Meet at the lot. Don't make me wait."

The line clicked off then as Mokuba gave a thumbs up to his friend. Yugi offered a nervous half-smile as his mind wandered over the possibilities. He had hopes of course as to what the emergency was. At the same time though that could be an entirely different problem. If it was Atem…then why was he here? Would if something had gone wrong? There weren't really any good reasons that Yugi could come up with for the emergency in Egypt. Especially not if his dear old friend as involved.
The two made their way out of the game shop after Yugi locked up. He had to change the sign to read 'Pardon the Inconvenience – Out of Town'. His grandfather had to be rolling in his grave at that. Right as a major release was coming too.
The care was too small to hold the stressful anxiety surrounding Yugi. Mokuba seemed to be somewhere between excited and curious as he texted on his phone rapidly. Probably work; needing to let everyone know not to expect either brother to be present tomorrow. Yui glanced over while fidgeting a button loose on his shirt.

"Do you think everyone is okay?"

Mokuba glanced up. The sheer amount of concern on his friend's face made him place the phone down. The negative thought had occurred to him; but the young Kaiba never let the bad overcome his intentions. He being able to do that had saved them multiple times with the company.

"I'm sure they are. We heard everyone's voices right?"

That was true. Yugi sat back trying to seem more relaxed. He had barely noticed when the vehicle came to a stop. Outside the tented windows of the climate controlled car it was still quite windy. A white jet sat peacefully in the center of a large concrete lot. Other flying vehicles were off to the side out of use. On the side was an intricate KC; signaling their company. Kaiba was out front with attention on a phone screen. Probably apart of the messages Mokuba had just sent out. Yugi scratched the back of his neck nervously as they approached the taller man.

"Thank you so much brother. I owe you one!"

"Yes, you both do."

Yugi's sheepish grin only stabbed at Kaiba's nerves. He followed the two into the jet as the engines started up. Taking a seat in the back, Kaiba glanced out of the window with no expression to offer. The two other males awkwardly sat at the front and turned to each other. Their conversation was hushed as not to bother the older Seto. Not that it worked terribly well, he was already on edge about the entire situation.
Egypt…the last time he was there…Kaiba took out the card still lodged in his front pocket. Thoughts of the afterlife ghosted through his mind. The card went back to its spot almost as quick as he had brought it out. This had nothing to do with the Pharaoh. It couldn't have. The man was at peace in his afterlife. Even though he left nothing but turmoil and memories in this one.
The clouds became neighbors as the jet soared through the sky. It was quiet; even though the wind rushing past them would disturb any poor bird flying nearby. Kaiba wasn't sure of when he dosed off. A gentle tan hand touched his shoulder accompanied by a deep voice.

"Wake up…"

Dazed his eyes opened slowly. The feeling of a strong hand was replaced by his brothers pale slender one. A familiar face smiled at him as he yawned.

"Wake up, we're here Nii-San."

Sand whipped at their bodies the second they left the protection of the jet. The sun reflected brightly off of the white sands that hugged every inch of their surroundings. The three shielded their eyes as they made their way quickly to a vehicle close by. Rishid sat in the driver seat; looking extremely nervous. He called over the sands. A white cloth wrapped tightly around his mouth and close to his eyes to shield from the sands.

"Windy today, my apologies. Thank you so much for coming!"

Kaiba sat in the front. Yugi and Mokuba got into the back. The vehicle sped off. Plastic was in place of what normally would be car doors. Buggies like this normally were open to the environment. Easier to get around in the desert. Kaiba leaned back on the worn leather seat.

"Going to tell us why we needed to come?"

Rishid glanced at the man from the corner of his eye. Marik must not have explained very much. They were in a frenzy when the call was made. The Egyptian kept his eyes on the road as the two in the back leaned closer to try and hear the conversation.

"I think it would be better to show you…Words escape me this day."

That didn't ease anyone's minds. Yugi sat back picking at the skin on his fingertips. The drive took longer than anyone could stand. It was even worse as their destination came into view; a hospital. The vehicle came to a halt and Yugi rounded on the driver.

"Who is hurt?! What is going on?!"

Mokuba nudged his friend out of the buggy giving him a look that read: calm down. Rishid wasn't sure of what to say to any of them. His silence cut into their nerves like knives. Kaiba followed the group in silence. Part of him wondering why he was even here in the first place. A panicked Ishizu waited for them right inside the sliding doors.
The hospital was mostly empty. Every once in a while someone would pass by with a clipboard. The building was fairly new in a not so busy town. It wasn't large or anything impressive. One level and about ten rooms. None of this did anything to calm Yuig's nerves. They were sitting in uncomfortable chairs that seemed both too large and too small as they waited to be told why they came out here in the first place.
Kaiba was getting more impatient by the second. Truthfully they had only been there for about three minutes. Mokuba had sat Yugi down who looked like a nervous expecting parent. He may only be in his twenties but the years were showing now more than ever. None of them were children anymore; Mokuba was the closest and he barely scraped by as that. Ishizu seemed to try and find any words. Rishid was silent, the man had sat down and crossed his arms. Words had escaped him the night this all started for them. The others were just now coming into the situation that they now called reality.

"It's hard to really start anywhere…"

Ishizu's hands were shaking. To her relief, Marik came to her rescue. Smiling awkwardly at the sand dusted visitors. A comforting hand rested on his sister's shoulder as he motioned for the group to follow.

"None of us can really say anything. It would be better to see this; trust me."

Trust Marik. Kaiba almost left right then and there at such a ridiculous statement. No retort came from his lips though. His own curiosity poking a hole at this point. The group made their way through a short hallway. The last door had a doctor holding a clipboard on the outside. He was speaking to a nurse in hushed tones. The nurse hurried off while avoiding eye contact as Marik nodded towards the closed room.

"How is he?"

The doctor's name tag read Dr. Gregory. This hospital was small and normally only had one doctor in the building at a time. He was elderly with gray hairs poking through dark black strands pulled into a tight ponytail. Keys jingled causing Yugi to jump slightly. Everyone was on their last strand of sanity. Especially the visitors who hadn't been given any strand of information. Kaiba watched as the door opened slowly. Dr. Gregory entered first; everyone else piled in behind him. He couldn't breathe. Kaiba froze at the entrance as Marik went in to stand beside a seated Bakura. Yugi ran to the bedside where a low lit overhead lamp illuminated a tanned skinned form. It had been a long time since two sets of tri-coloured hair shared a space. Dr. Gregory flipped through a few charts on his clipboard. Unaware and uncaring of the shock resting in the elder Kaiba's soul.

"He's unconscious. Alive but…we are waiting on test results to find out anything else. I have a few more rooms to check in on. I'll be back in a few."

Dr. Gregory almost ran right into Kaiba as he tried to make his way out of the room. The pale man just moved silently to the side. Eyes boring into the figure laying limp in the hospital bed. Mokuba seemed to be the only one to find words. Standing behind Yugi he tore his eyes from the form to meet Bakura.

"How is this possible?"

"Your guess is as good as ours. Only thing he said was that he won…"

Bakura had bags under his eyes and spoke as if any word could be his last. A dead silence filled the room as everyone's eyes remained on the Pharaoh. Marik kneeled next to Bakura's chair, a slight shake in his voice.

"The millennium puzzle completely shattered when we found him. There was this wall of sand with hieroglyphs all over it…everything crashed down before we could record anything. We have no idea what's going on or why he's here."

Atem looked out of place in the hospital bed. Cuts and bruises lined his arms. Needles and tubes going every which way while a machine beeped next to him. Kaiba's entire body had been paralyzed. He couldn't move himself from against the back wall by the exit door. Part of him wanted to run and the other part wanted to beat the living shit out of the man. Answers were something he desired. When he desired something it needed to happen at his command. Situations where he had no control were something he didn't know how to process or even handle.
Yugi smiled. His hand gripping around the Pharaoh's limp one. Tears tried to jerk at his eyes but he blinked them away. Regardless of the reasoning he was just happy to see Atem one more time. It almost had to be a dream. Yugi fought the urge to go and call all of his friends to tell them who was laying here in front of his eyes. Mokuba smiled as well. The reasoning couldn't be great but at the same time it was like they had time traveled. Back to when he was just a little kid watching everyone duel around the realms. Yugi broke the silence. His voice always being the one of reason to level any dire situation.

"Well…we'll just have to wait for him to wake up and fill us in won't we?"

Note: Wow, it has been such a long time since I have been able to update. I am extremely sorry for the delay. I'm not even sure if people are still wanting this story published.

I know there isn't really any great excuses but I did move twice, my schedule at work changed three times in the middle of receiving a promotion. Things have been crazy. I never meant to stop updating this story. My deepest apologies go out to everyone who was waiting on an update. I plan to be more frequent on this site.

See you all soon! xD